Amir Shiva, Assistant Professor of Teaching in the Department of Anthropology, participated in the 2023 UDL Fellows program. Here, he discusses how he has incorporated UDL into his practice and what makes UDL critical not just to the field of Anthropology, but to learning as a whole.
Please describe how you have applied UDL principles in your course or practice/service area.
I have integrated the philosophy of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in various ways throughout my courses. For example, in a smaller, upper-level course, I aimed to design the course to eliminate the need for students to request accommodations. This included offering flexibility in the mode of attending class meetings (in-person or online), and providing flexible due dates for assignments.
In a more focused pedagogical project, I worked closely with the principles of UDL by integrating the three core principles—engagement, representation, and action and expression—through the use of student-generated course materials. I saw an opportunity to enhance both engagement and comprehension by assigning these materials, enabling students to express their learning and represent course content in a meaningful way. I encouraged students to produce work that would have a potential audience beyond just their instructor and classmates. My specific aim with this application of UDL was to explore whether student-generated materials could help make highly abstract concepts more accessible. By empowering students to create content, they could overcome barriers in their own learning and assist their peers. For example, in one course, I assigned students a project to create high-quality instructional videos on significant controversies in the history of anthropology. This approach engaged students by asking them to develop something meaningful (the “why” of learning), while allowing them to create accessible representations of the content (the “what” of learning) and apply their understanding in a practical, creative manner (the “how” of learning).
What motivated you to initiate this work in your course or practice?
I regularly teach core courses in my department, many of which are required for students planning to major or minor in anthropology. Among these, two key courses are theory-focused, where students are introduced to the anthropological modes of thinking and theorizing, with an emphasis on the historical contexts in which these theories have developed.
Generally speaking, these theory-intensive courses (e.g., Contemporary Anthropological Theory) are often perceived by students as less accessible compared to thematic courses (e.g., Anthropology of Media). The former are typically associated with abstract concepts and overarching frameworks, which undergraduate students often find more challenging and more closely aligned with graduate-level study.
In contrast, thematic courses, which focus on concrete phenomena and topics of direct interest to students, are generally seen as more accessible. These courses provide greater autonomy and choice for students as well, both in terms of content and instructor, which naturally leads to higher levels of engagement.
Recognizing that engagement is a critical factor in learning, as emphasized by UDL, I was motivated to explore strategies to enhance student engagement in these core, theoretically dense courses. My aim was not to simplify the content, but to create opportunities for students to engage deeply with the material, thereby making the learning process more meaningful and less daunting.
I think that UDL is not about “making things easy.” It is about making students feel both capable and challenged; valued, accountable, and inclined to return effort.
In fact, in my experience, students are willing to dedicate their creative energy beyond the fundamental parameters of course work when they feel capable, challenged, and afforded the liberty to do so.
What challenges did you face when implementing UDL, and how did you overcome them?
I firmly believe that the classroom is the first and most important place to raise awareness about accessibility. In the video project I mentioned earlier, I emphasized to students, both in our conversations and through the assignment prompt, the importance of considering the accessibility of the materials they develop. This included tasks such as creating study guides for their videos, adding captions, and more. I also introduced the concept of Open Educational Resources (OER) and encouraged students to consider making their videos OER-compliant. This approach required them to use copyright-free resources, such as footage or images, in their projects. However, I realized that I wasn’t fully prepared to guide students in finding these copyright-free resources. In the future, I plan to collaborate more closely with the CTLT’s open education specialists to better support students in this area.
Another challenge was ensuring that student groups were equitably composed, particularly since creating instructional videos requires a diverse set of skills, including technical abilities. I successfully addressed this challenge by using the “Teamable Analytics” tool, developed by colleagues at UBC–O, which facilitated the formation of balanced teams where each student could contribute their strengths.
How have students benefited from the UDL strategies you implemented?
Students have benefited from the UDL strategies primarily by experiencing reduced stress, which in my experience leads to improved learning outcomes. By removing barriers like rigid deadlines while empowering them in their own and their peers’ learning, students felt more in control of their educational journey. The autonomy and responsibility they were given—not only with flexible deadlines but also in taking an active role in their own and their peers’ learning—resulted in higher levels of engagement. This, in turn, made the teaching experience more rewarding for me as I witnessed their growing enthusiasm and commitment.